Dam.



T. H. SKINNBR.

DAM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 8. 1910.

1,075,128. Patented 0st. 7, 1913.

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T. H. SKINNER.

DAM.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. 8, 1910.

Patented 0015.7, 1913.

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"fPatielitedl-Oct. 7,1913.

Appnation filed Marche, ieio. seriai'nofmacse.

yTofoZZ 'tolwm 2f may concern Beit known that I, THEODORE H. Sirm- Nnn,of "Oneida, in the"coun`ty of MadiSOn, in the State of VNew York, haveinvented new and useful improvements 'iny rDams, of `which thelfollowing, taken in connection "with theyaccompanyin'g drawings, is afull, clear, andexact description.

' 'render the 's'aine "self-sustaining during :pro-

gressive building without 'the uset vforms 'ortlier falsestrtlctreson'supports and at the 'same time topermit 'the'istres's'es due to'ithewe-ight offtlie structure to be evenly dis- `tributed or balanceddurin'gs'uch progressive building, iso"that'whe'n the fstrticture iscompleted 'this stress* will 'be directed in l'predeter'mined directionsand Concentrated or distributed uponpredetermi'ned oints or "areas, asmay 'be desired 'to "resist 'andbal-l ance the superposed structureor'loa'd.

-Another obj ect is to dispose cellularmonoliths in such manner as'toV'allow 'an'even distribution Iof "surface 'or ground Water4ther'ethrou'gh 'for 'the Ypurjyose of relieving the "entire 'structure'from hydrostatic 'pressures tending to Voverturn or A'reduce thestability of the 'same j Other objects and Auses will 'be'fbroughtoutin'the followingde'scription. I

ln the 'dravvin-g'stFigure l'is 'an end elevation :of 'afdain Fig. '2 isanenlar'ged Sec` tional view of portions "of two fadjacent tiersorlayers o'fhollo'w fmoiiolithsjshov'vn in F ig. t l. Fig. 3 "is an'enlarged transverse end view of adjacent fniorfoliths showingparticularly the cementitious bond` `between them. Fig. 4l is anenlarged sectional view of adjacent mono'liths iisedfin anluprightposition. Fig. 5 is a face viewofa'dam, 'showing the 4tile"a"rran,g"edwith their 'open-l' ings toward the Water.

This-'dam is'composed of'a series of'similarly formed tiles or hollowmonoliths -'loi" terra-cotta, cement, 'concrete or like materiarofsuitable dimensions,v the normal section of 'each -being 'thatof asystem of v"equilateral triangles assembled or grouped :integrally orcementitiouslyto form a regular polygon .preferably hexagonal `so thatywhenassembled the "sides 'of 'the triangles 1`.will itorm'reinforcin'gWebs 2- extending from corner to corner of the hexagon to moreeffectively resist compression strains. It is to be understood, however,that in some instancesA these reinforcing ribs may be vomitted and thatin other instances Where certain `tiles are subjected to excessivestrains tlieymay be filled with concrete 'and suitable reinforcements'embedded therein.

Yln-thecon'struction cfa dam these monoliths are'arranged systematicallyside 'to side and 'held a -slight Vdistance apart'by spacing 'members 3-forming intervening spaces 'at the 'joints 'for 'the 'reception 'of 'asuitable bond '44T- -oit 'cementitious material by which the' u nits'are bound together to render-thestructiire self Isustaining during pr0-fgressive building. v Y

Vl/Vhe'inus'ed'in the construction tota dam, `in'which it 'is 'desiredorv'necessary to form one "or more voids, as-e, the `hollow monolithsvare arranged in 'a :horizontal positionwith theiriupper and lower sidesdisposed in similar Atransversely inclined planes of, in this instance30o, from a hori- `zonta'l "so 'that 'eacl1 'unit in the body of vthestructure 'rests upon the adjacent sides of two 'sub-units and 'forms adirect support ior 'two wadjacent superposefd units.

lBy 'employing the form of vtile or hollow monoliths described, 'they'may be assembled vinsuch"manner :as to form the voids, arches oropenings 'of any cross'seotional area 'or 'areas and are renderedselfsustaining vduringprogressive building without the use of "forms orother false supports, and v`'at the sa'nie 'time the superposed load andstresses may vvbe distributed "to predetermined points as maybedetermined by the use to which the structure may be adapted. Anotherimp'ortantzadvantage of this cellular structure is 'that it 'affordsinterior channels for the free 'entry and'ifp'assage 'therethrough .of'surface 'and f'grou'nc'l water, 'thereby relieving the entire structureor any part thereof yfrom excessive 'hydrostatic `pressures. This-rprovision for the relief of hydrostatic pressures makes it possible toconstruct a dam from comparatively light tile or holloW monolithscapable of effectively resisting any loads, strains or stresses to whichdams of this character may be subjected and at the same time materiallyreduce the cost of material, labor and time in the construction of suchWork.

1n the construction of dams any one of three conditions may be met.First-Where it is desired to store a small quantity of flowing Water insolid ground or rock in Which the deflection and control of the flowWould not make the construction of the dam diicult. 1n such a'case thecellular units Would be placed With the closed sides normal to thesurface of the dam, thereby making the structure Water resistant in oneoperation. Second-Where the ground is soft or full of Water tending toproduce upward hydrostatic pressure upon the completed structure, inwhich case the cellular tile units Would be placed vertically on end andin vertical alinement thereby providing vertical Ways or channelsthrough which the Water may rise to a level from Which it may be safelyWithdrawn to the outside of the structure. Third-Where a large volume ofWater or Water flowing at high velocity makes it impossible to deflector hold back the flow by colder-dams, and it must therefore be allowedto flow during construction. 1n this last case the cellular tile unitswould be placed upon their sides longitudinally in alinenient andparallel to the flow of the Water, thereby forming channels for suchflow and not materially reducing the normal area of the bed of thestream, yet providing a foundation and a method for building the entiresuperstructure before attempting to stop the flow of Water, asshovvn inFig. 5.

1n some instances it may be necessary to tie the outer tile in placeduring progressive building of the dam and this is particularlydesirable Where the dam is built up in courses of gradually increasinglengths from a main supporting pier so as to produce a cantaliversupport for the superstructure and for these purposes one or more tiepieces -8- are incorporated between and transversely of one or morecourses of tile with their ends lapped upon or hooked into the outerfaces of the outer tile of the adjacent course, thereby holding theouter tile in place and forming a cantaliver, the bond spanning suchcourse from side to side to more effectually support and distribute thesuperposed load.

When the cellular units are properly assembled te form the dam and voidsor arches therein, the slope or Water side of the dam and top may becovered With a layer or facing -10 of cement or equivalent materialwhich not only affords a Wearing surface to protect the tile units butalso affords a reinforcing bond tying the entire upper series of tilestogether.

l/Vhat 1 claim is:

l. A dam composed of similar cell units of regular vpolygonalcross-section bound together side to side, one upon another WithouteXtra supports'or forms during progressive building.

2. A dam composed of Similar equilateral cell units bound together sideto side, one upon anothe 3. A dam having an arch or vault composed ofsimilar, regular, polygonal cell units bound together side by side oneupon another Without forms or preconstructed centers.

1l. A dam having an arch composed of regular polygonal cell units of thesame size and form, cementitiously joined side to side one upon anotherin courses, With the cells of each course alined.

5. A dam having piers and arches composed of regular, polygonal cellunits, cementitiously joined side to side during progressive building.

6. A dam composed of a multiplicity of cell units of regular polygonalcross-section joined side to side one upon another in courses, thecontiguous sides of each unit and its superposed unit being disposed atan angle to a horizontal plane.

7. A dam composed of similar cell units of regular polygonalcross-section joined together side to side one upon another in coursesduring progressive building, with the cells of each course alined andopen from end to end, each unit having partitions divided in itsinterior into a plurality of cells.

8. A vaulted dam composed of similar units of regular polygonalcross-section cementitiously secured, side to side, one upon the otherto form a vault, Without forms or preconstructed centers.

9. A dam having an arch composed of cell units of regular polygonalcross-section arranged side to side one upon another, so that one of theupper sides of each unit which forms the arch Will be substantiallynormal to the spring line of such Wall. y

l0. A dam composed of cellular units cementitiously secured side toside, one upon another to form an inclined Water front, and a concretefacing covering said front.

1n Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 17 th day ofFebruary, 1910.

THEODORE H. SKINNER.

Witnesses:

H. E. CHASE, HOWARD P. DENIsoN.

Gop'ies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

